DocSlow

I recently purchased Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s after hearing people rave about them for dual purpose use all over the internet. They are absurdly expensive, but I was under the impression that their extended tread life (220 wear rating) and excellent handling would make it worthwhile in the end. After only ~2K miles and 2 track events, they are completely worn down to the cords on the rears.

To replace the rears, which would only get me through the rest of this season at best, would cost nearly $1,000. Tire rack, where they were purchased, and Michelin won't offer any help/warranty whatsoever. I'm sooooooooo frustrated with the purchase and would not recommend these tires to *anyone*.

Previously, I ran the OE Pirelli tires. Each set lasted more than twice as long as these PS2s with replacement occuring at the beginning of each track season. I was looking to get similar wear from the PS2s. Is this that unreasonable!?

I know many will recommend getting separate wheels/tires for the track, but I only do 6-8 track days a year at most and don't want the hassle of swapping, etc as this is my daily driver during the spring/summer/fall. I truly enjoy driving to the track and changing nothing (usually run pagid blue pads throughout the entire track season and swap back to stock afterwards due to the slight squeal).

I'd like to know what some of you are running and what you would recommend given the situation. Also, I'm curious what you guys think about these Hankook Ventus S1 Evo tires specifically. They are relatively cheap and have a good wear rating. If I'm going to replace the tires ever year, I'd rather not spend ~$1500 on a set anymore.

Thanks for any comments/recommendations. Sorry for the long post, just very irritated and hating myself for this PS2 purchase.

boss351

There is some promissing discussion on 6 speed here and a link here on rennlist about Sumitomo tyres.

But something doesn't compute on your situation, 2k miles and 2 track days?? Where and how was the wear? Did you adjust the tyre pressure at the track? I ate up a set of Pirellis at the track mostly due to running them at 44 psi cold, that got them too hot/high pressure and caused excessive wear. I also had a lot of camber (just lowered the car) prior to the track event that had already started on that wear also. Since then I put PS2s on for the street and they look mighty healthy, probably 4k miles..

DocSlow

Car was aligned not too long ago with near stock settings on stock suspension. No crazy aggressive camber settings or anything. The car is not pushed hard on the street. On the track, the cold temps are 30 front and 36 rear. Have done about 20 track events and these cold pressures have proven to be the best.

ltc

Don't you think you're being a little bit unreasonable in expecting someone to cover track wear on a street tire?

Land Jet

I ve done 4 DE's and a few thousand street miles on my set of PS2's and they still look new. I called Michelin about track tire pressure and they told me 26 front cold, 28 rear cold, shooting for 36/38 hot. I would definitely buy PS2's again. Sumitomos sound like a deal, but I can't argue with the Michelin's' performance.

Patrick E

I don't have a TT, but those cold pressures, particularly in the rear, seem high to me for PS2s. Did the rears wear evenly across the tread?

Carnerd

Buy some Yoko Advan 048s. They'll turn rock hard after a couple DE's but will last you at least 10k miles.

wross996tt

If you are on 18's get the yoko neovas. I am not a fan of PS2s either (not the first time I've said that). MPSC are much better, but have to be hot and are slick if cold.

Bos

The Yokohama Advan Neova's will get you to and from the track in both dry and wet. Given your quick wear on PS2's then two things come to mind. Is the the track overly abrasive and do you check pressure throughout the day? As already mentioned, checking pressure is key for all tires. Morning temperature to afternoon, with the greatly increased heat of driving on the track, requires constant monitoring. You should check pressure prior to going out and then upon return. Do the math and adjust accordingly, and drop pressure if they're high. If you continually check you will find yourself dropping pressure throughout the day in hot summer conditions.

DocSlow

Considering how long they lasted, not really.

DocSlow

I always checked temps throughout the day and checked the wear on the tire.

4G64T

I have got to recommend the Advan AD07's. Great on the street, in the wet and on the track. The tires are quite soft and therefore tire wear is lousy.

ltc

Don't forget to mention how much fun MPSC are in the wet
(IIRC, Michelin does provide instructions on how to manually groove the tires to make them better suited for wet conditions)

itacud

Going off of cold tire pressures leaves too many variables uncontrolled in setting tire pressures... Do you know what the hot pressures on track (and street) are?

For me personally, a setting of 36psi cold would generally cause the rear tire to end up over inflated and sliding when hot - though it really depends on ambient air and track temps, and how aggressively I'm driving.

To really figure out why the PS2's wore so much faster than the Pirellis, you'd have to precisely contrast alignments, hot tire pressures, and driving styles, before/after the tire switch.